The Sword of Goujian: A Testament to Ancient Craftsmanship


The Sword of Goujian: A Testament to Ancient Craftsmanship

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In the annals of history, few artifacts capture the imagination quite like the Sword of Goujian. This ancient weapon, discovered in a tomb in Hubei, China, is a testament to the craftsmanship and technology of its time.To get more news about sword of goujian, you can visit shine news official website.

The Sword of Goujian is renowned for its unusual sharpness, intricate design, and resistance to tarnish rarely seen in artifacts of similar age. It is generally attributed to Goujian, one of the last kings of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period.

The sword was found sheathed in a wooden scabbard finished in black lacquer. The scabbard had an almost air-tight fit with the sword body. Unsheathing the sword revealed a relatively untarnished blade, despite the tomb being soaked in underground water for over 2,000 years.

On one side of the blade, two columns of text are visible. Eight characters are written in an ancient script, now known as Bird-worm seal script. Initial analysis of the text deciphered six of the characters, “King of Yue” and “made this sword for [his] personal use”. The remaining two characters were assumed to be the name of the particular King of Yue.

The sword of Goujian is 55.6 centimetres in length, including an 8.4 centimetres hilt; the blade is 4.6 centimetres wide at its base1. The exquisitely forged blade was made primarily of copper, but the edges have a higher tin content, making them harder and able to keep a sharper edge.

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